Update on
EURO-CORDEX and
MED-CORDEX
Filippo Giorgi
Abdus Salam ICTP
CORDEX-SAT1, Trieste, 16-17 May, 2014
EURO-CORDEX Basics
(Courtesy of A. Prein)
Community and Models
•
EURO-CORDEX Basics
Specifications
• Spatial resolution:
- EUR-11: 0.11 degree (12.5 km)
- EUR-44: 0.44 degree (50 km)
• Driving GCMs: CMIP5
• GHG scenarios:
- rcp4.5, rcp8.5 (focus)
- rcp2.6 (few simulations)
• Periods:
- Hindcast (ERA Interim): 1989 – 2008
- Control: 1951 – 2005
- Scenario: 2006 – 2100
Region (center of boundaries):
~ 27° N – 72° N, ~338° W – 45° E
(details: http://wcrp.ipsl.jussieu.fr/SF_RCD_CORDEX.html)
EURO-CORDEX Basics
Status EURO-CORDEX Simulations
0.11° Simulations
40
30
20
10
0
40
30
20
10
0
40
30
20
10
0
40
30
20
10
0
0.11° Hindcast
hindcast: 16
40
30
20
10
0
0.11° Control
control: 22
0.11° Scenarios
rcp26: 5
rcp45: 16
rcp85: 21
0.44° Simulations
Σ42
40
30
20
10
0
0.44° Hindcasts
hindcast: 22
0.44° Control
control: 32
0.44° Scenarios
rcp26: 8
rcp45: 26
rcp85: 26
Σ60
EURO-CORDEX
Evaluation
“Standard” Evaluation [Kotlarski et al., 2014]
EOBS
CORDEX EUR-11
CORDEX EUR-44
ENSEMBLES max
ENSEMBLES p75
ENSEMBLES median
ENSEMBLES p25
ENSEMBLES min
• Basic features of European climate captured
• Shortcomings for selected metrics, seasons and regions.,
• Comparison with ENSEMBLES: Comparable, partly smaller error ranges.
EURO-CORDEX
Evaluation
Heat Waves Evaluation [Vautard et al. 2013]
Bias of
90th
centile
• Heat waves well captured, but modulations in strengths
• Strong dependence on land-atmosphere processes and convection
• No improvement at higher resolution
EURO-CORDEX
GCM Evaluation
1. GCM Performance [UNICAN,
ETHZ,
UNIGRAZ, …]
CMIP5 GCMs feature a range of performances
 No distinct outlier
 No imperative reason to disqualify specific GCMs as drivers
for the EURO-CORDEX RCMs.
EURO-CORDEX
GCM Selection
2. Sampling
• 7 GCMs
(MPI-ESM, CNRM-CM5, and ECEARTH in 4 realizations each)
• Temperature change range fully
sampled
• Extremely wet GCMs missing
Precipitiation change [%]
EUR-11:
Temprataure change [K]
EURO-CORDEX
Climate Projections
First Analysis of EUR-11 Climate
Change Signals [Jacob et al., 2013]
•Analysis based on 9 (RCP45) and 10 (RCP85)
0.11 simulations
•Mean climate change
•Change in various indices relevant for
Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability (IAV)
studies
•Results tested for robustness and significance
• EUR-11 confirms earlier findings
(ENSEMBLES)
• More spatial detail
• RCMs provide higher daily precipitation
intensities than GCMs
Precipitation Change
EURO-CORDEX
User Interface
User Interface Activities
•Definition and analysis of impact relevant indices and ensemblebased derived products (ongoing, results partly already available)
•Provision of a bias corrected EURO-CORDEX dataset (ongoing)
•Inter-comparison of BC Methods
•User guideline document (under development)
EURO-CORDEX Basics
Status
Availability for Users
• Data-Access
(similar to CMIP5):
•Connect to and register at
one of the ESGF nodes
•Select project “CORDEX”
•Select domain “EUR-44”,
“EUR-44i”, “EUR-11”, or
“EUR-11i”
EURO-CORDEX
Status
Status of the EURO-CORDEX simulations and their
analysis
•71 EUR-11 and EUR-44 scenario
simulations finished, ~100 planned in
total
•EUR-44 40 simulations published on
ESGF
•EUR-11 24 simulations published on
ESGF
MedCORDEX (courtesy of P. Ruti)
Scientific goals
Further understanding of the feedbacks between earth system components at regional
scale (chemistry, land-surface, ocean etc)
Further understanding of the processes acting at the air-sea interface
Characterization and analysis of all components of the regional hydrological cycle
Provisions of new sets of scenarios for the Mediterranean basin (AR5)
Regional coupled models - AORCM (CIRCE)
ARCM – ORCM - Rivers
High resolution ARCM → non-hydrostasy
RESM
REGIONAL EARTH SYSTEM
MedCORDEX – Portal
www.medcordex.eu
MedCORDEX – Portal
www.medcordex.eu
Med-Questions
• Geophysical sphere: Are we able to
characterize extremes at local scale? Are
coupled processes so relevant?
• Impact sphere: Are we able to define
ecosystems tipping points?
Rainfall extremes
SON 1989-2008
Do the resolution matter?
RCM 50 km
RCM 12 km
99 percentile
Rainfall extremes
SON 1989-2008
Obs Safran
RCM 50 km
RCM 12 km
Extreme dynamics
Total cyclone center density in SON and DJF.
…and the ocean …
SST
Ecosystem impacts
Ponti et al, 2014, PNAS
Med-challenges
to develop a regional climate system considering and
improving all the components from climate dynamics to
human behavior;
to gather and organize observational data into tailored data
set for climate process validation and for impact studies;
to increase the link with the groups working on the impact
side and to integrate impact modeling into the Med-CORDEX
initiative;
to build-up tailored data-sets able to directly provide
detailed and actionable climate information.
THANK YOU